Apple Watch Ultra (Apple)
It certainly surprised me. Apple has officially entered the dive computer business, well sort of…
With the launch of the latest Apple Watch model the Apple Watch Ultra at the start of September – Apple technically became the biggest player in the dive industry. Aimed at the outdoor enthusiast it boasts a longer battery life, bigger display and crucially a depth sensor – it’s now capable of becoming a fully fledged dive computer.
It’s the sort of news that has sent shockwaves and dread through numerous industries. Apple has arrived. Its products have already absorbed nearly every personal electronic device we used to carry in our pockets and wrists. In this case I don’t think it will have the traditional manufacturers too worried (yet) but it’s definitely set an interesting precedent.
The dive computer functionality has featured prominently in all Apple’s promotional material for the Ultra but Apple will only be providing the hardware for others to provide the decompression software. Huish Outdoors – owners of Suunto, Oceanic, Hollis and Zeagle to name a few – appears in the promo material to have partnered with Apple to provide the initial software in the new Oceanic+ app.
When I first heard about the Ultra I assumed it was following a similar path to Garmin, another big and relatively recent arrival into the market. The now popular Descent range arrived in 2017 but has always had native dive computer support.
It’s also an interesting move from Huish. It will be offering software onto a platform that runs as a competitor to many of its own products (Suunto in particular). It follows the familiar shift that many companies, in mainstream technology, have completed moving from delivering hardware to software based solutions. There is obviously far less scope to do this within the niche industry of scuba diving.
The Oceanic+ app will be free without any decompression monitoring functionality and then $79/year to actually function as a dive computer. I’d expect this pricing model to deter anyone who already has a computer from paying a yearly subscription fee to use one. However, I’m sure there will be some interesting applications for the combination of a dive computer, biometrics and GPS on your wrist during a dive. The Oceanic+ app does have the ability to send decompression info to your iPhone, if used as a camera in a underwater housing. Definitely interesting but still very niche.
My guess is Apple has no particular interest in the dive industry. Adding a depth sensor to the Apple Watch is mostly a useful marketing feature to sell it. The wearables market is congested and finding any new ‘killer features’ now challenging. It’s a great opportunity to splash some exciting underwater images into marketing material to sell it to people who don’t actually dive.
I own an older Apple Watch and use it daily – tracking everything from steps to sports. I enjoy a metric… I also own more than a few dive computers. At some point I will probably upgrade my Apple Watch and would consider the Ultra but I’m not sure I will be paying a subscription to use it as a dive computer.
– The Apple Watch Ultra is available now starting at £859. The Oceanic+ app is due to be released some time in Autumn 2022.
